The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
SLOW ROLLOUT
State opens DMV offices — partially, by appointment
About a month ago, Alberto Sepulveda and his family were notified by their car insurance company that until they updated their vehicle registrations and licenses to their new address in Connecticut, their insurance would be suspended.
But with the Department of Motor Vehicles shuttered for in-person services due to the COVID-19 global health pandemic, there wasn’t much they could do and in Connecticut, driving without insurance is a misdemeanor offense penalized by a fine of up to $500, imprisonment up to three months, or both, even during a pandemic.
That’s why they were among the first to sign up for an appointment at the Waterbury DMV branch, which along with nearly all other DMV offices in the state partially opened for appointmentonly in-person services on Tuesday.
“Our insurance company made it pretty urgent that we make an appointment as soon as possible,” said Sepulveda, 25, who moved to Ridgefield from Yonkers with his mom and stepdad in April. The move was planned prior to the onset of the coronavirus
pandemic, but the virus certainly complicated matters, he said.
Gov. Ned Lamont and Commissioner Sibongile Magubane were at the Waterbury DMV office to announce the reopening on Tuesday. After a threemonth shutdown for inperson transactions, the state Department of Motor Vehicles offices have partially reopened — by appointment only.
All visitors have their temperature taken upon entrance, and are asked by an employee if they’ve traveled out of state in the past 14 days or have any shortness of breath. Upon entering, guests check in for their appointment and then take a seat in one of the socially distanced chairs in the waiting area. Masks are required, all employees are protected by newly installed plexiglass and there are several hand sanitizer dispensers in the facilities.
“Who would have thought everybody was missing DMV so much,” Lamont joked. “A year and a half ago there were a lot of complaints and ... one of the many things that COVID we learned from is how to upgrade what we do and here we are opening the DMV in Waturbury and around the rest of the state and doing it with a new normal ... last year we tried to accelerate things ... to mitigate the load on DMV. But this is another sign that our state is getting back to business in a very cautious thoughtful way to keep people safe.”
Prior to the COVID shutdown, the department was working to move some services online, a process that was expedited by the closures. The shutdown for coronavirus tested the department’s ability to move transactions online, a longtime effort that had already gained speed.
Magubane estimated roughly 60 to 70 percent of license and registration renewals are completed online these days.
“We can do more and part of our strategy is to increase that number,” she said. “In terms of new credentials, you are required to come to the DMV in person ... When it comes to new credentials, it’s low because we need primary documents to transact that business,” she said. “
In the next two weeks, Magubane said the department will introduce the ability for people to take pictures of their credentials, and upload them to an online system for precheck to make sure people have all of the primary documents they need. She said employees working from home will be able to complete the pre-checks, reducing the number of employees in offices, and reducing the failure rate for people visiting the offices. That will reduce backlogs and wait times, she said.
“So we are really using technology to transform how we are supporting the citizens of Connecticut for some very complex transactions that require primary documents,” Magubane said.
The state delayed the renewal deadlines by 180 days for driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations expiring March 10 to June 30 and by 90 days for those documents expiring in July— though that process can often be carried out online. But others, such as tests for new drivers, transferring license and registration from out of state and some tax transactions, have been slowed creating a significant backlog for the department, Magubane said.
Testing for learner’s permits is being done at the Cheshire and Wethersfield locations on limited days and requires an appointment.
For more information and to make an appointment, go to portal.ct.gov/ DMV.
“DMV is one of the places where people directly interact with their government on a regular basis,” Lamont said. “I want them to see that we’re trying everyday to make this a good customer experience like we’re used to in the private sector. Getting it done on time, friction free, and COVID has reminded us more than ever how we have to do it safely as well.”